Netflix’s new series “October Faction” has it all, action, monsters, love, drama, magic. The series’ creator Damian Kindler (“American Gods”, “Sleepy Hollow”) took us inside the series and it’s making during our interview, which I’d love to share with you.
Based on the graphic novel by Steve Niles, the series follows a family of monster hunters and their teen twins who discover that their parents are monster hunters which sends their lives spiraling into chaos.
“October Faction” is produced by High Park Entertainment in association with IDW Entertainment. IDW Entertainment is the worldwide distributor (excluding Canada) for the series. “October Faction” builds on the success of IDW Publishing’s comic book series written by Steve Niles.
Horror Fuel: “I’ve been watching October Faction. I’m really digging it.
How difficult was it to adapt the series from the books?”
Damian Kindler: “When you are doing something with this much story involved, you want as much time and as much money as possible to make it. I wish I had more time and money to make it. The hardest part was making sure that I wasn’t straying too far from Steve Niles’s novel and what was really at the core of the comic book. The way I figured out how to adapt it is I sat down and talked with Steve and said, ‘This is what I was thinking of doing and I won’t do it if you don’t like it or have any hesitations about it.’ I love the comic. So with his blessing, I did it. We had a big challenge to adapt it but Steve was around a lot and liked the direction we went in.”
Horror Fuel: “It’s wonderful that he was involved with the making of the series. It’s always great when the creator of the original story is involved.”
Yeah, man. I never wanted to be the guy who took a great graphic novel and messed it up. I wouldn’t have done it without his approval. He sent me an email right after I finished it and said he loved it. He’s seen it all the way through. I wanted the writers to have access to him and him to have access to the writers. He was involved all the way through. From before the moment, we got the green light to when we finished it. In fact, when we did the final scene, I insisted that I interview Steve. I was really excited when IDW invited me to adapt October Faction.
Horror Fuel: “I really like the fact that the series pays attention to the bond between the twins and their parents, and the fact that they are struggling to fit in.
Damian: “Having the twins in this small town, where the parents grew up has a great effect.”
Horror Fuel: “Can you talk to us about some of the monsters that we’ll run into this season?
Damian: “People have a lot of perceived notions about the supernatural. We’ve all heard a lot about vampires and werewolves and warlocks and stereotypes about them and the people that hunt them. What about their point of view? What are we afraid of and what is the propaganda behind it? To them what we call them is like a slur to them. We wanted to explore the meaning of those terms. We wanted to play against that. On top of monsters, we wanted to explore subjects like homophobia. We wanted to make it relatable to all audiences.”
Horror Fuel: ‘I think that’s really interesting. And I love the way you depict the strength of the female characters. Most are pretty badass. They’re not cowering in some corner or need some man to protect them. I think that is important.
Damian: “That was an intentional thing. I wanted to take the female characters, especially the female characters of color and make them the heroic centerpiece of the show. I was really overjoyed to work with Tamara Taylor, Aurora Burghart, Maxim Roy was a powerhouse. They were tireless. Maxim Roy did her stunts herself. She did a vampire beheading herself with a sprained ankle again and again. Tamara was doing gunfights herself in minus-fifteen-degree weather with just a light jacket. I was so thrilled with the work they did.”
Horror Fuel: “I love it. I have to ask, are we getting a second season?”
Damian: “I hope so. I would love to do one. Have all your readers contact Netflix and say they want it. I have a lot more to say and a lot more story to unwind. Season one is almost a prolog to what comes next. Send Netflix messages demanding it and we’ll see what happens.”
Horror Fuel: “I’ll make sure we get the word out. I want to see more.”
Damian: “Thank you.”
Horror Fuel: “I’m only a couple of episodes in and I get the distinct feeling that something off with Presidio. Am I right about that?”
Damian Kindler and J.C. MacKenzie
Damian: “Oh yeah. That’s kind of a fun twist. They are not exactly a force for good. They’ve lost their way. We’re going to learn a lot mot more about Presidio and the politics. I love that Maggie is in control. I love that headstrong woman now running this global empire of supernatural hunters. It’s kind of cool. Deloris and Alice are now in protection mode. There’s a lot of stories to play with.”
Horror Fuel: “I, as a woman, really appreciate that you’ve made these female characters strong.”
Damian: “Thank you. I’m glad that you feel that way. It is very much intentional.
I’m always excited to hear when a writer/director truly appreciates and wants to honor the original creators’ vision. We don’t see a lot of that these days. I have so much respect for Damian Kindler for that and for his talent.
If you haven’t seen “October Faction”, put it at the top of your binge list pronto. It’s an action-packed series filled with twists and drama that deserves to be seen. Oh, and did I mention monsters? I highly recommend that you check out Steve Nile’s graphic novel as well.
